Development

Much of Medway is rural, including large tracts of countryside on the Hoo peninsula, in the Medway valley, on Rainham marshes and around the urban area. Its villages make up just over 10% of Medway’s population. The countryside contains many diverse landscapes, from salt marshes to the chalk hills of the North Downs. The area also has a number of key employment sites, such as Kingsnorth and Thamesport on the Isle of Grain.

Rural policy

Medway Council realises that it has a valuable asset in its rural area and wants to ensure that the area is cared for and its residents enjoy a good quality of life. The council is working with local people and its partner organisations on a strategy for its rural area. This work is based around five key themes:

• securing access to services,
• supporting rural community life,
• securing a strong local economy,
• valuing Medway’s countryside,
• integrating strategic plans with local needs.

The Cabinet approved the Rural Action Plan (www.medway.gov.uk/cabinetdecisions-issues.asp?ois=no&ID=686) on 20 July 2004 to support policy and projects in rural Medway and building partnership working. The plan provides the council with a framework for securing the sustainable future of rural Medway and a basis to underpin project development. It will take forward activities on a range of issues, such as:

• transport improvements,
• provision for young people,
• community facilities in villages,
• promoting access to the countryside.

Work already underway includes the development of a new community transport scheme for rural Medway. A local partnership, the Halling Association, has been set up and has carried out a range of projects in Halling over the last three years.

Parish councils

There are eleven parish councils in Medway, covering the Hoo peninsula and the western part of the Medway valley. They deal with a number of local issues, such as the management of village play areas and are a useful contact point for local information.

Other useful organisations on rural issues

• Action with Communities in Rural Kent –  a voluntary organisation supporting rural communities across Kent and Medway. It can provide specialist advice on rural housing, transport, village halls, parish plans and a range of other rural projects (www.ruralkent.org.uk).
• Countryside Agency – a national government body working to improve the quality of life in rural areas and improve access to quality countryside. It provides policy guidance, advice and some funding to promote rural issues (www.countryside.gov.uk).

Further information and help on rural issues

This can be provided by the council's Rural Strategy Manager, whose work has a special focus on rural issues and whose role is to work on rural projects and policy in Medway.

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